Monday, August 02, 2010

Our Guest ~ Deborah Davis

Debbie Davis will celebrate 22 years of marriage to her best freind tomorrow. She recieved her degree in elementary education with a dance minor from BYU 18 plus years ago, 6 weeks after having her second baby. She loved the paniced looks that her teachers gave her when ever they thought she was in labor.

Now she is the mother of 7 active busy children( ages 19 to 6 ) and life is never a dull moment. She volunteers at her kids schools as accountablity president for the middle school and high school, and helps in her kids classes when ever she can. She loves to go caving, and camping and doing fun activities with her family. She loves to dance, sing, draw, write, teach her fitness classes and pretend to play the piano. She runs full and half marathons and has her eyes set on doing a triathalon in the next year. She hopes to be a published author in the nearer rather than farther future. She has lived in Colorado for the last 13 years.

Last September I took a huge leap of faith, I decided that the writer inside me dying to be let out and be heard, could be. I began to write my first noveleven though I was afraid of being found out and exposed by the inner workings of my mind.

Besides, who was I, a crazy busy mom of seven very active kids to think I could be a writer?This summer alone I had to get my boys to basketball, football, lacrosse, and track practices, camps, games and meets. I was teaching 3 to 4 plus group exercise classes a week, and leading a bunch of energetic fun beehives as part of the Young Women's presidency. Not to mention getting my second daughter ready for college, and keeping my little children entertained too all while my husband was going to be gone most of the time.

But, I figured if I could commit myself to the incredibly difficult goal of running a full marathon with all the training it required and raise over 2200 dollars for charity (which I ended up finishing in a little over 7 hours through hail, rain, snow and winds that blew me off the road) and do another one that same year, then I could commit to being an author and this goal I set for myself.

So I took up a challenge to write every day in the month of July for an hour. I was commited, no matter what. It would be a piece of cake, right? After all it was just an hour a day.Well, I was way wrong on this one.

It turned out to be more difficult than I could have ever imagined.

Not thinking, I chose to take on this challenge that would be in effect during a caving trip , going out of town to visit family that had plans of thier own that I was expected to be a part of for 8 days, taking care of kids on my own while my husband was either traveling for work or serving the Lord at Scout Camp or cooking for over 250 people on a four day Pioneer Trek, most of the month of July. In addition, I was traveling on my own with all seven of my kids (ages 19 to 6 years) to Utah to see my mom, brother and to take my daughter to college orientation in Logan.

Not a single day of this challenge went by that I haven't started writing before 12 am. It is so hard at times. I'm sooo tempted at times to just quit and not keep at it. But I told myself that I was writing no matter what, like I promised myself. And so with bleary eyes and jumbled brain waves, I stayed committed.

I can honestly say I haven't missed a single day of writing and kept my goal alive, beyond my expectations, even when it was as late (or early) as 1:30 am when I finally hit the keys. After finishing my writing time for the day, I always feel a huge sense of accomplishment for not giving up on me.

I have made more progress this month than I ever thought possible. I know that some days my eyes are held open with extra help, when all they want to do was head off to dream land. But I am somehow able to rouse myself enough to finish what I am writing on, hit save and stumble off to bed.

So I say, if me and my crazy self can keep committed to writing everyday no matter how out of control life can get, then I believe you can do it too.

So experiment! Try it out for yourself. Make a goal, stay with it, and come tell me at my blog and tell me what it was and how it went. I'd love to hear about your writing experiences. Besides, I know one thing for sure, you definitely won't be sorry, when you look back at your accomplishments.

My best writing is usually done in the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th hour after starting, so one hour per day would be counterproductive for me. Of course, I am only able to write 2-3 times a week for that many hours. I see what you mean about forming the habit, though. Congrats on your awesome achievement in July, Debbie!

Thanks everyone =0) Writing every day was fun, but hard and now that school is starting I think I would be an absolute zombie if I kept up my July writing schedule. But I do plan to keep writing, at an easier pace. I am glad I did it though. Thanks again Ali for the chance to be this weeks guest blogger. It was so much fun! =0)

Around the Blogck

Once upon a time, a group of new writers got together and started this blog about their struggles, their aspirations, and their quest to become published authors.

Now, the better part of a decade later, we've been around awhile. We've learned far more , done more, and gone farther than we ever imagined we would!

Some joined us, some moved on, some became the published authors they always wanted to be, and some are still in the grind.

This is the record of where we've been, a textbook of what's been learned and a heartfelt memoir of experiences shared. Though the writers have moved on, the archives are here for you to peruse, and hopefully you'll find something in them to help, encourage and uplift.